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Using Mass Configuration in NetBotz Central to Upgrade NetBotz Appliances

Issue:

Using Mass Configuration in NetBotz Central to Upgrade NetBotz Appliances

Product Line:

NetBotz
NetBotz Central

Environment:

NetBotz Central version 2
NetBotz version 1 and 2

Cause:

This article outlines the procedure & process for upgrading NetBotz Appliances (version 1 and version 2) with Mass Configuration in NetBotz Central.

Resolution:

Background Technical Information:
NetBotz Central stores copies of BotzWare (the firmware for the NetBotz Appliances) on its local file system for use when NetBotz Central is used to upgrade the NetBotz Appliances. The ""staged"" copy of BotzWare must be updated first before Mass Configuration can be used to push the BotzWare out to the appliances.

High Level Upgrade Process

Update NetBotz Central with the latest version of BotzWare

Select the appropriate appliances or groups of appliances from the Map or Table View, then select Mass Configuration and finally double click on ""Upgrade""

Initiate the upgrade of the selected appliances

Detailed Upgrade Instructions

Login to NetBotz Central using the NetBotz Central Console and a userid with sufficient privilege to access the Mass Configuration functionality.

Update the BotzWare version resident on NetBotz Central by selecting ""Tools"" then ""Server Administration"" then ""Install / Upgrade Management"" from the NetBotz Central Console. The ""Install / Upgrade Management"" dialog window will appear.

On the ""Manage BotzWare Images"" tab, the window will display two options: ""Check NetBotz Website"" and ""Browse To File"". If the PC running the NetBotz Central Console has internet access, try selecting the option ""Check NetBotz Website"". If the NetBotz Central Console is able to successfully contact NetBotz Updates Website (http://updates.netbotz.com), ""Status"" column in the window will change from ""N/A"" to either ""Server Up To Date"" or ""Needs Updating.

If the ""Status"" column reads, ""Needs Updating"" then click on the button in the bottom right corner titled ""Upload Latest"". At this point the NetBotz Central Console will pull the latest BotzWare images from the NetBotz Updates Website and then push them over to the NetBotz Central system. This may take a while depending on the speed of your internet connection.

If the NetBotz Central Console is unable to connect to the NetBotz Updates Website, an error window will appear indicating such. At this point, the only option to get the latest BotzWare images uploaded will be to use the ""Browse To File"" option.

To use the browse to file option, the BotzWare Upgrade File for NetBotz Central must downloaded manually to the PC that is running the NetBotz Central Console using a web browser. The file can be found on the NetBotz Support page for each Appliance titled ""Botzware Upgrade for NetBotz Central"".

Once the upgrade file is downloaded, unzip the file into a subdirectory.

Now click on the ""Browse To File"" button and go to the subdirectory where the file was unzipped and select the file titled ""master.release.nbc"".

Once the NetBotz Central Console completes the processing of the master.release.nbc file the Open File window will close and return back to the main ""Manage BotzWare Images"" window. Now click on the ""Upload Latest"" button in the bottom right corner.

Once the ""Upload Latest"" has completed processing, the ""Status"" column will read ""Server up to Date"".

At this point the NetBotz Central has the latest BotzWare images resident on its local file system.

The final step is to upgrade the Appliances themselves using Mass Configuration. To do this return to the Map View or Table View in the NetBotz Central Console. Select an individual or multiple Appliances.

Now click on the ""Mass Configuration"" button at the top of the NetBotz Central Console.

From the Mass Configuration screen, double click on ""Upgrade"" in the bottom half of the window.

The Upgrade Window will appear listing all of the appliances selected (Version 2 appliances on top and Version 1 appliances on bottom).

Select the appliances to be upgraded from the tables (top or bottom) the click on the ""Upgrade"" button.